Mikel Arteta rages about William Saliba penalty incident and confirms Arsenal have ‘lost’ one player in bombshell post-match interview

Mikel Arteta has slammed the decision to award Brighton a penalty in the 1-1 draw against Arsenal at the AMEX on Saturday evening.

Mikel Arteta, 42, expressed frustration after referee Anthony Taylor awarded a penalty against William Saliba during Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brighton. The incident, involving Saliba, 23, and Brighton forward João Pedro, also 23, led to a controversial call when Saliba was deemed to have headbutted Pedro inside the box.

Pedro converted the resulting spot-kick, marking his fifth Premier League goal of the season. However, the decision sparked widespread debate among fans on social media. Many argued whether the challenge warranted a penalty, with some suggesting Saliba had won the ball before the follow-through.

The Premier League issued a statement clarifying the call:

*”The referee’s call of penalty for a foul by Saliba on João Pedro was checked and confirmed by VAR, who deemed there was sufficient contact for a penalty.”*

Adding fuel to the controversy, reverse-angle footage shared online appeared to show Saliba making contact with the ball first, intensifying the debate.

Speaking to *Sky Sports* after the match, Arteta was visibly frustrated, reflecting the sentiments of Arsenal supporters who questioned the decision. The draw left Arsenal with a missed opportunity to close the gap further on league leaders Liverpool.

“Very disappointed with the way he has given the penalty,” said Arteta.

“I have never seen [anything like] it in my life,” he raged.

“Saliba touches the ball so…” added the Gunners boss.

Arteta confirmed his stance when asked whether he thought it was a penalty by the reporter, to which he replied: “For me, no.”

But that was not the only disappointment coming away from the fixture on the south coast.

Goalscorer Ethan Nwaneri was withdrawn at half time and after the game the Arsenal boss issued a worrying update on the youngster.

“Really bad news because I think we’ve lost him, we had to take him off at half-time with some muscular issues,” he told BBC Sport.

Of course, Bukayo Saka is set to be sidelined for several months after he sustained an injury in the 5-1 win against Crystal Palace in December.

Speaking after Arsenal’s 1-0 win against Ipswich on December 27, Arteta gave an update on Saka’s injury.

“He [Saka] had a procedure,” Arteta explained.

“Everything went well, but unfortunately he will be out for many, many weeks.

“I said many weeks, so I think it will be more than two months. I don’t know exactly how much longer.

“It will depend on how the scar tissue starts to heal, the first week or so, the mobility of that. Let’s see, it’s very difficult to say.”